Monday, October 31, 2016

Sunday proved to be a very busy day for me. Since we had spent all of the day before at
marching band competition I had to make up for lost time. I began by getting both bread machines busy
whipping up some whole wheat bread dough so I could get four loaves of bread
baked.

I pulled a ham bone out of the freezer and put it in my slow
cooker with some hot water and let it cook on high all day to make soup
broth. I removed the meat from the bone
for soup too. I allowed the broth to
cool overnight in the refrigerator so I could remove the fat before I placed it
in containers to put away in the freezer.
Now I have plenty of delicious ham broth to make soups and beans.

I used leftover applesauce in the refrigerator to make a delicious
loaf of Applesauce Bread. We enjoyed it
for breakfast and snacks throughout the week.
The jar was odd shaped and difficult to scrape out so I poured the milk
used in the recipe into the jar first and shook it well to get the rest of the
applesauce out of it.

I have been seriously wanting a pumpkin pie. I could easily eat pumpkin pie year round so
I decided to make my grandma's No Crust Pumpkin Pie to satisfy my little
craving. I had frozen whipped topping in
the freezer and everything I needed in the pantry to make this pie. It was a slice of heaven! Ha, ha.

Monday evening a storm blew in and we got a good drenching. Much needed and appreciated.

I used a 75¢ coupon to purchase two packs of gum on sale for $1.00
each making them only 62¢ each. I added
them to my stash of stocking stuffers.

Tuesday evening the youngest and I loaded all of our glass into
the back of the truck and took it to the recycling bin in the Albertson's
parking lot. After dropping that off we
went inside to pick up a few items on sale to add to my pantry stash for
holiday baking. I also picked up two
more pounds of butter and another big jar of peanut butter on sale for $5 and
two packages of sausages marked down at 50% OFF. That concluded our October grocery shopping
quite nicely.

Wednesday we headed off to the high school after dinner for a
wonderful band concert my oldest was in.
The Treasure Valley Concert Band was also part of the show. It was a fabulous evening of entertainment at
no cost to us.

This pretty witch all dressed up for a school dance

I dropped off two bills saving me the cost of postage. One was the orthodontist, because we were
there for an appointment, and the other was the water bill as it was pretty
much on our way home one day.

I washed and reused several Ziploc bags.

I cut the bottom off of a tube of face cream and managed to use
what was left inside all week.
I used a binder clip from my desk to help hold it closed so it didn't
dry out. I still have quite a bit left for this week as well.

I love the little derby hat on the gin

I picked up my two bottles of liquor this month to re-stock the
empty cabinet for the holidays. Now I am
up to four bottles - Vodka, Gin, Brandy, Spiced Rum. Next month I will pick up two more and again
in December I'd like to as well. I am
very much looking forward to having little cocktail parties.

They were having a big sale at JC Penney. I found winter dress coats for my daughters
on sale for $26.99 and $32.99. They
didn't need new coats but I felt they should have an extra one, plus when
formally dressed for orchestra and band concerts or dressed up for school
dances these coats will be very nice to wear.
I put them on my JC Penney card and will pay it off next month.

While at the mall I treated my oldest daughter to lunch at Sizzler
for our Mommy/Daughter date before taking her to do some birthday and Christmas
shopping for her sister. We had such a
nice time together.

This month started out amazing when I found coupons in my mailbox
from Winco for free groceries. Then we
got the ones from our neighbor and I was beyond just a little happy. Needless to say the first half of the month
didn't see me spending much money at the grocery store at all. Yaaay.

I waited until the middle of the month before I did any major
grocery shopping and really only bought items on sale and markdown. It is really nice when we are so well stocked
that all I really need is a few fresh produce items and milk so I can take
advantage and stock up on sales items which is exactly what we did. Almost everything I bought this month was
either on sale or marked down for clearance.
Or better yet, FREE!

On the spur of the moment I got a bug to make apple butter. I hadn't made any in years and it sounded so
good. I picked up the apples at a local
fruit stand and used sugar and spices I already had on hand. I was really pleased when Albertson's ran a coupon in
their ad for sugar so I could replace what I used and add an extra bag for the
holiday baking.

My non-food items included the usual cat food and litter. I stocked up on toilet paper, which was on
sale at Albertson's, and enough fabric softener to see us through winter at the dollar
store. I bought a large bottle of dish
soap on sale and with a coupon too. I
spent a total of $35.45 of my $25.00 budget so I was definitely over budget
this month on non food items. I've been
under enough times, however that it was well covered.

I was extra careful not to get carried away with all the great
buys I've been seeing, which would have been really easy to do, and stuck to my $150.oo budget.I came in just under and our pantry is
stuffed right now.I know with growing
teenagers it won't stay that way for long, but for now it is really nice.

Here is the list of food I bought.
The items highlighted in red are my stock up items:

Groceries

$$$

Smoked
sausage

3.89

Sale

Milk
- 1 gal

1.84

Sale

English
muffins (2)

FREE

Store Coupon

Bacon
(2)

FREE

Store Coupon

Eggs
- 1 doz (2)

FREE

Store Coupon

Bratwurst

2.50

Markdown

Steak

3.71

Markdown

English muffins (2)

FREE

Store Coupon

Bacon (2)

FREE

Store Coupon

Eggs - 1 doz (2)

FREE

Store Coupon

Orange juice - 59oz. (4)

FREE

Store Coupon

Flour - 20#

5.96

Coconut

1.42

Sale

Non
stick pan spray

1.68

Sale

Onions

1.26

Sale

Tomatoes

0.46

Sale

Lettuce

0.98

Sale

Cole
slaw mix

0.98

Sale

Ground
turkey - 1# (3)

5.87

Markdown/Coupon

Summer
sausage

3.99

Sale

All
Bran

3.99

Coupon

Shredded
wheat

1.99

Sale

Cornflakes

1.88

M&Ms (2)

3.50

Store Coupon/Coupon

Sour
cream

0.85

Sale/Coupon

Tea

2.24

Sale/Coupon

Tortilla
chips

0.60

Sale/Coupon

Potato
chips

1.19

Sale/Coupon

Bananas

1.33

Apples
- 8#

8.00

Fruit Stand

Bell
pepper

0.69

Fruit Stand

Avocado
(2)

1.00

Fruit Stand

Clam chowder (8)

5.92

Sale/Coupon

Frosting (2)

1.98

Sale

Potatoes (8)

5.52

Store Coupon

Pasta (6)

2.94

Store Coupon

Noodles cups (12)

2.40

Store Coupon

Cheddar
- 2#

5.00

Markdown

Tortilla
chips (2)

1.76

Sale

Potato
chips

1.56

Sale

Veggie
tray

5.99

Coupon

Spinach

1.54

Coupon

Salad

0.99

Markdown

Broccoli

0.99

Markdown

Guacamole

0.99

Markdown

Strawberries

1.50

Sale

Clam chowder (4)

2.96

Store Coupon/Coupon

Enchilada
sauce

1.67

Sale

Bananas

1.03

Cream
cheese (2)

1.36

Sale/Coupon

Milk
- 1/2 gal (3)

2.37

Sale

Ham

1.99

Sale

Turkey

1.99

Sale

Bologna

1.00

Sale

Salami

1.00

Sale

Pudding
cups (3)

2.64

Sale

Spanish
cupcakes - 6ct (4)

1.16

Markdown

Balsamic
vinegar (2)

2.74

Sale

Sugar - 4# (2)

3.38

Store Coupon

Baking chips (2)

3.98

Store Coupon

Butter (2)

4.98

Store Coupon

Peanut butter

5.00

Sale

Sausages (2)

5.00

Markdown

Total

$
145.13

$145.13 ÷ 31 days ÷3 people = $1.56 per
person per day!

Did you stock up on anything this month? Any super deals? Are you already squirreling things away for
the holidays like I am?

Thursday, October 27, 2016

I was able to finish up my semi-annual spring cleaning here at our
humble abode. I had started in the living
room and dining room a few weeks ago before moving on to bedrooms and
bathrooms. The laundry room got a good
cleaning too.

Along the way we de-cluttered and made sure we weren't getting
back into old habits of collecting items we didn't need or use. I was very happy to see we have been really
good about staying on top of things. I
sent some stuff out to the recycle bin but I don't have anything to donate or
toss. How about that?

I need to refill that cookie jar

Spring cleaning the kitchen is always a chore as it sees a lot of
activity. I started on it a couple of
weeks ago taking it in sections washing cabinets, straightening and organizing
drawers and cupboards as I went along.

Saturday, before we headed off to marching band competition, I got
up early determined to get this chore completed. I started by cleaning and re-organizing the
pantry and the freezer on the refrigerator.

Love this pantry!

I had already done inside and outside of the refrigerator as well
as the walls around it and the floor underneath. I had also done the stove inside and out as
well as around and underneath. Both are
yucky chores. I did the microwave inside
and out last Friday before I went to work.

All clean and organized

I took a few things out to the recycle bin then came back in and
took everything off of the counters on one side of the kitchen. I scrubbed up the counters, backsplashes and
walls and then did the same thing on the other side. Lastly, I tackled the range hood over the
stove.

I love a working kitchen with clean and shiny surfaces

I am happy to report my crazy repair to the backsplash behind the
sink is holding up very well. And I have
to say my favorite home improvement project I've done so far this year is
definitely the overhaul of the cabinet under the sink. So much nicer and much, much easier to keep
clean. It has stayed nice and neat ever
since my daughter and I finished that.
I love it under there.

Squeaky clean microwave

With the kitchen all cleaned up it didn’t take me long to get back
in there and start cooking and baking. Something
about a super clean kitchen just makes it so nice to cook and bake. I get really motivated.